Political career
Finch was a member of the Conservative Party prior to the 2024 general election,but has variously claimed he was "kicked out" of the party,and that he left because he felt frustrated because he saw "no traction in the way to stop illegal immigration". [3] After joining Reform UK,he was first elected as a councillor for the Bedworth Central ward in the 2025 Warwickshire County Council election. [3] Reform UK went from having no councillors before the election to being the largest party after the election,albeit falling short of an overall majority. He was selected as deputy leader of the council on 16 May 2025,with fellow Reform councillor Rob Howard being selected as leader. [5]
On 25 June 2025,Howard resigned as council leader for health reasons,leading to the then-18-year-old Finch serving as interim leader. [6] He was confirmed as permanent leader on 22 July after Conservative councillors abstained,leading to a tie that was resolved by the council chairman and Reform member,Edward Harris. [1] Finch's election as council leader put him in charge of a local authority with £1.5bn worth of assets and an annual budget of £500m, [7] and faced criticism from opposition politicians due to his age and lack of experience. [4] Finch has dismissed his critics as "ageist" and "not relevant". [4]
One of his first acts as leader was to oversee a vote on a proposal to hire political advisers,at a cost of £150,000,something that was criticised by opposition politicians as a waste of public funds. The proposal was narrowly passed by councillors. [8] In August 2025,he published a letter on social media claiming that Warwickshire Police had covered up that the suspects of an alleged rape were asylum seekers, [9] risking a charge of contempt of court. [10]
Following his election as council leader,Finch embroiled himself in a disagreement with the council's chief executive,Monica Fogarty,over the flying of a Pride Progress flag outside the council building. He asked for the flag to be removed,but Fogarty rejected his request. At a meeting on 4 September,Finch's cabinet voted to strip the chief executive of responsibility for deciding what flags can be flown outside its building,and handed the decision to the council's chairman. [11]
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